- 61% of low-income families have no books at home
- NBC 26 raised enough money to host a third free book fair for local kids
- "It's an amazing day. It might be the best day yet," says 2nd grader, Naived Muniz Gonzales
- Click to donate to our If You Give A Child A Book... campaign today
In a world where 61% of low-income families have no books at home for their children, campaigns that promote reading are crucial. According to Scholastic, children who read for fun have higher academic achievement.
Since its launch in 2016, NBC 26 and the Scripps Howard Fund’s "If You Give a Child A Book" Campaign have been working to help address the issue. The campaign has donated more than one million books to children across the country through generous donations.
This year, NBC 26 raised enough money to host a third book fair, this time at Lincoln Elementary School in Green Bay.
The goal of the "If You Give a Child A Book" Campaign is to provide children with books they can call their own. With each book fair, local kids have the opportunity to take home a stack of books, building their own home library.
"This never happened to me before!" Second grader, Naived Muniz Gonzales said with excitement.
The impact of these book fairs goes beyond just providing books. Kejel Vandeven, a second-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary, emphasizes the importance of exposing children to reading from a young age. She says reading growth is influenced by the amount of reading exposure, whether it's through being read to by a parent, a sibling, or reading to someone else.
For these children, learning to love reading not only sets them up for a successful future but also brings them joy in the present.
"It's an amazing day. It might be the best day yet," adds, Naived Muniz Gonzales.
Each student at Lincoln Elementary took home six free books from the book fair. Additionally, this year, students at Tank Elementary received ten books at two separate book fairs.
If you'd like to contribute to our campaign and help empower more children through books, click here.
